The cowardly cop: A monologue by Terri Troncale

Jeffrey Lehrmann could have done the right thing after police shot six innocent civilians on the Danziger Bridge six days after Katrina. He could have shown courage, as his lawyer claims he is doing now with his confession.

Courtesy Newshour / PBSFormer NOPD officer Jeffrey Lehrmann. He could have behaved like an honorable public servant. He even seemed to start out in that direction. The then-New Orleans police officer ministered to some of the wounded civilians on the bridge and made sure they got to a hospital.

There were grievous injuries inflicted that day. Part of Susan Bartholomew's arm was blown off. Her husband, Leonard, was shot in the head. Lesha, their 17-year-old daughter, was hit in her knee and lower leg. Their nephew Jose Holmes Jr. was disfigured by wounds to his abdomen.

And, of course, two men died: Ronald Madison, a mentally handicapped man devoted to his two dachsunds, and James Brissette, a 17-year-old school friend of Holmes'.

You would think that such a devastating scene would spark some sense of compassion, and Lehrmann professes to feel empathy for the families now. But that day he turned away from them.

He left the hospital, went back to the 7th District's makeshift headquarters at the Crystal Palace and began to help concoct a cover-up that would blame them for the carnage. He laid out his cowardly actions Thursday in federal court: He created a name for a fake witness to claim that Madison made a threatening move before he was shot. He rode along when officers picked up a gun to use in setting up the victims. He helped the shooters practice their made up stories.

His cooperation with prosecutors now is important. But courage has nothing to do with it.

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Terri Troncale is editorial page editor. Contact her at ttroncale@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3433. Follow her on Twitter @TerriTroncaleTP.